Triumph Vitesse 14/60 Saloon

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Joining Triumph in 1933 shortly after his famous Monte Carlo Rally victory aboard an Invicta S-Type, Donald Healey was rapidly promoted to Technical Director and set about giving the Coventry marque a more sporting image.

The driving force behind the fabulous supercharged Dolomite Straight 8, Healey also designed the new Vitesse model which came out in 1936 and was based on the Gloria range of sporting saloons, coupes and tourers. Available as a four- or six-light saloon and a drophead coupe, the elegant Vitesse bodywork was built from aluminium over an ash frame and was styled by Walter Belgrove, the luxurious interior featuring plenty of leather and wood with a sunroof and adjustable steering column.

Under the bonnet lurked an all-new 1,767cc four-cylinder engine with twin SU carbs, overhead valves and efficient cross-flow cylinder heads which produced 62bhp at 4,500rpm. Mated to a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on the top three ratios, it proved a willing and torquey unit that gave the Vitesse a top speed of 80mph and made it the fastest model in the Triumph range (the more flamboyant Dolomite being some 250kgs heavier).

Although the Vitesse and the Dolomite were acknowledged as the best cars Triumph had ever built, being credible rivals to Riley, MG and SS, the company could not make enough of them and, lacking resources to increase capacity, they went into receivership in June 1939. Only around 250 Vitesse models were made in total (compared to 2,500 Dolomites) of which just 132 were four-light saloons and only 20 are known to survive today. According to the Pre-1940 Triumph Motor Club, just 13 of these retain their saloon bodywork which makes DGF 863 a rare beast indeed.

An early Vitesse which was first registered in London in August 1936, DGF 863 has had just five owners to date and was acquired by the vendor in 1996 by which time it was in a fairly sorry state, having been previously restored in the early 1960s. An ex-Standard Triumph service engineer, he set about a thorough body-off restoration which took over seven years to complete and has resulted in the fine specimen you see today.

Although all the outer panels are original and have been carefully restored, the ash frame was shot and had to be almost completely renewed, as documented by photos on file. The interior was also fully retrimmed, a new wiring loom fitted, the dash instruments overhauled as necessary plus numerous other jobs all detailed in many invoices and letters in the history file.

Shortly after it was returned to the road in 2003, it became clear that the block was cracked so a replacement was sourced and in 2006 the engine was treated to a full rebuild by Cotterell Engineering of Derby with new pistons, reground crank etc, at a cost of £2,447. The cylinder head was also rebuilt and converted to run on unleaded fuel for an additional £1,164, the carburettors were overhauled, the radiator recored, a new water pump fitted and a solid state regulator conversion carried out. The wheels have also been refurbished with new tyres all round. A quick tot up of the bills on file comes to well over £25,000 which does not include the vendor’s own labour, nor the innumerable smaller parts required to finish the job.

Since all the work was completed the car has been kept garaged and has been lightly used in fine weather only. It comes with a good history file including various black-and-white photos of the car as it was in the 1960s plus an original owner’s handbook and parts catalogue. Starting promptly and driving nicely when we were treated to a short run on the occasion of our visit to take these photos, this exceedingly rare and handsome sporting saloon now needs a caring new owner who can give it the more regular exercise it deserves.

Bidders are advised that a quantity of useful spares are available by separate negotiation if desired (original block; pistons; steering column; lubrication chart etc) but these will need to be collected from the Telford area.